Never have African-Canadians and their descendants been so numerous in Canada. In 20 years, the African diaspora has more than tripled, from 300,000 people1 in 2000 to 1.3 million2 in 2021.
Adding African-American and Afro-Caribbean descendants, the African-Canadian population is 1.5 million.3, or approximately 4% of the Canadian population. This percentage is expected to grow substantially in the decades to come, the African continent being one of the main sources of immigration to Canada.
Better educated and financially more comfortable, African-Canadians actively participate in the country’s prosperity. As we know, the African diaspora is one of the most educated racialized groups in Canada. In 20214they were more likely to have a bachelor’s degree or higher than non-visible minority and non-Aboriginal Canadians.
What is not known is that since 1980, businesses owned by immigrants, particularly the African diaspora, were responsible for 25% of net jobs created in the Canadian private sector.
To circumvent the barriers to its inclusion and economic integration, the African diaspora has turned to entrepreneurship. Between 2005 and 2018, the proportion of business owners who identify with the African-Canadian community increased significantly for both women and men, but at relatively different rates. It now represents a significant share of businesses incorporated by immigrants and this share is growing steadily.
A link between Africa and Canada
Members of the African diaspora in Canada are one of the links between our country and the 54 countries of the African continent. They have the advantage of knowing both parties, of having ties there and of participating in personal and professional networks in their country of origin and their adopted country. Added to these formidable levers are their business experience, including in strategic areas, their knowledge of private and public institutions and their familiarity with the markets of both worlds: the large North American continental market and the large African continental market. For the foreseeable future, the latter will be one of the largest markets in the world.
I sincerely hope that the decision-makers and business people of our country will develop a healthy curiosity, followed by effects, with regard to this great African continental market.
I also hope that partnerships and, why not, alliances will be created between these decision-makers and business people and the professional associations and chambers of commerce representing the African diaspora in Canada.
Finally, Canada should attach great importance to former African students who have graduated from our universities and colleges. These students are a special part of our own diaspora, the Canadian diaspora, on the continent. They are our friends, our daily ambassadors. They help to indirectly strengthen the Canadian presence in Africa. I have no doubt that Immigration Canada will urgently resolve the systemic discrimination that affects young Africans wishing to come and study in Canada.
For a Canadian Council of the African Diaspora
As announced in the document The United States and Africa: Building a XXIst Century Partnership, the African diaspora is central to the Biden–Harris administration’s African vision. Our southern neighbors have established an African Diaspora Council to guide their strategy in Africa.
Without wanting to reproduce the American formula, I strongly hope that a Canadian Council of the African Diaspora will be created. There is no doubt that such a Council could provide significant support to Canadian diplomacy on the continent.
I make this proposal in the context of the international day dedicated to Africa. The conviction is spreading around the world that this continent could occupy a leading role in this century not in terms of power, but in terms of importance. Canada must take note.